Friday, March 19, 2010

Gas Stations in Levitt Bowie

Levitt and Sons attempted to have nearly an acre of land rezoned to allow for the operation of a gas station near the intersection of Route 3 and Belair Drive. According to a 1964 Washington Post article, the Prince George's County Commissioner denied the zoning request based on a recommendation from the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. A court battled ensued. The Princes George's County Circuit Court overruled the decision, but the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's ruling.




When my in-laws were in the process of buying their first Levitt house in 1962, they were told to avoid buying any house on Keel Turn because a gas station was planned for the intersection of Collington Road and Kenhill Drive. Houses on the western side of Keel Turn were adjacent to the proposed location (the present day location of the Bowie bushes). That plan was also scrapped.



A gas station was built on the corner of Annapolis Road and Stonybrook Drive. According to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Levitt and Sons sold the property to Mobil Oil Corporation in 1967 for $170,000. That station switched its affiliation from Mobil to Sunoco, and it closed its doors in December, 2009 to make way for a PNC Bank branch.




"Md. Court Rejects Levitt Gas Station," The Washington Post, June 3, 1964

No comments:

Post a Comment